


Everybody's Birthday

by tablelamp



Category: The House in the Cerulean Sea - T. J. Klune
Genre: And Arthur adores him, Domestic Fluff, Linus is adorable, M/M, Presents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:13:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27286963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tablelamp/pseuds/tablelamp
Summary: Arthur stopped at the doorway, surveying the room.  "What happened?"Linus looked at Arthur, then at the room, which would, to the untutored observer, appear to have random items scattered in every corner."Ah," he said.  "I can explain."
Relationships: Linus Baker/Arthur Parnassus
Comments: 19
Kudos: 113
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Everybody's Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ladydoor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydoor/gifts).



When Linus was on a mission, nothing would stop him, and so it was with wrapping paper. He was highly methodical about it. The paper had to be cut at an exact right angle, with approximately an extra 1/3 in length and height so that it would be sure to reach all the way around whatever was being wrapped. The paper had to be taped at an exact right angle too, along the back. Then the corners had to be folded just so, which would allow them to be tucked away nicely when the flap on either end was taped to the back. 

Next, the ribbon had to be cut. Ribbon had to be long enough to go around the outside of the item twice, once around the vertical and once around the horizontal, before meeting in a small, tidy bow in the middle. Then the ribbon ends had to be curled with scissors. Of course, that assumed a rectangular present; irregular presents were much more complex than that. Round presents, for example, had to be wrapped like candies, with twists to the paper and ribbon securing them on either side. It was a meticulous job, and Linus loved it, but it did take time to get each gift just right. Which probably explained why he had, so far, wrapped only one present out of the many yet to be wrapped.

Arthur stopped at the doorway, surveying the room. "What happened?"

Linus looked at Arthur, then at the room, which would, to the untutored observer, appear to have random items scattered in every corner.

"Ah," he said. "I can explain."

Arthur looked more amused than anything else. "Go on," he said.

"Well," Linus said, "tomorrow is Lucy's birthday."

Arthur surveyed the room once more. "All this is for Lucy?"

"No," Linus said, "not all of it. You see, I did buy Lucy some records, but then it occurred to me that birthdays could be very uncomfortable if all you do is sit there watching other people open presents."

Arthur's expression was beginning to soften as he crouched beside Linus. "You bought presents for the others."

Linus nodded. "I bought a new kind of mulch for Talia to try--recommended by Helen, of course." He regarded the small bag. "Now that I think of it, I probably shouldn't have brought a bag of mulch inside. But it'll be wrapped in a minute. And I couldn't take the risk of someone finding it outside." He gestured to a ream of multicolored typing paper. "That's for Sal. I thought he might like something different than plain paper to write on." He held up a bag of mixed buttons. "This is for Theodore. All different kinds." He tapped the top of a red and black hat with gold braid around the edges. "This is an old bellhop's hat from one of the hotels in the city. I thought Chauncey might like to wear it sometimes. I think it should sit on his head all right. It's different from his porter's cap, so he can switch back and forth if he wants to." 

"He'll love it." Arthur had a distinctly warm expression on his face, the sort that made Linus's toes tingle. Linus wondered sometimes whether that was a phoenix trait or simply an Arthur one. Not that he needed an answer anytime soon. Or ever.

Linus cleared his throat, touching the fan box directly in front of him. "I don't know much about David yet, but he seems to like the feel of the wind when he's outside, so I thought he might like a fan for his room. Though he might have to start brushing himself three times a day if it tangles his hair." He glanced at the small tree in the corner. "That's a quaking aspen. Phee knows the Latin name for it. She said once that she hoped to see one someday. I probably should've left that outside too, but the way Phee can feel trees, I was sure she'd find it even more quickly than Talia would've found the mulch." He gave Arthur a sheepish look. "I didn't exactly think about how to wrap a tree. Do you think it'll be all right if I only wrap the roots? It won't be as much of a surprise."

Arthur didn't answer in words. He kissed Linus with such enthusiasm that Linus felt quite giddy.

"That--that doesn't exactly answer my question." In the normal course of events, Linus wasn't much of a sputterer, but Arthur did have a knack for catching him off guard. Linus didn't know if he'd ever get used to it, but then, it wasn't the sort of thing he found particularly pressing to get used to. And Arthur never minded his sputtering.

"I think it does," Arthur said fondly. "You dear man."

Linus regarded the presents. "But do you think they're all right?"

"I think they are," Arthur said, resting an arm around Linus's shoulders. "All of them."

Linus leaned against Arthur. "I hope so."

"You realize," Arthur said, humor seeping into his voice, "that you'll have to do this for all of them every time any of them has a birthday after this."

Linus smiled at the thought. "Won't that be nice." He turned his head to look at Arthur. "Though I might need your help if I run out of ideas for presents."

Arthur laughed. "I'm sure we'll be able to think of something." He looked at the one and only package--Lucy's records--that Linus had managed to wrap on his own. "I can't promise I can duplicate your ribbon work, but could you use some help?"

"Yes, please." Linus had been wondering how on earth he was going to get all of these wrapped before sunrise if a regularly shaped set of records took him an hour and a half. He gave Arthur a hopeful look. "Do you think you could manage the tree?"

Arthur looked at the tree critically, then back at Linus. "For you? Of course."

Linus leaned in to give Arthur a kiss on the nose. "Thank you."

Arthur gave him a squeeze. "Anytime."

Tomorrow was going to be a wonderful day. Tonight, Linus thought, wasn't bad either.


End file.
